Comments about ‘Legislative bills tell federal government to give up public land in Utah’

Perhaps our illustrious legislators should actually read Seciton 3 of the Utah State Constitution which reads:

The people inhabiting this State do affirm and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within the boundaries hereof, and to all lands lying within said limits owned or held by any Indian or Indian tribes, and that until the title thereto shall have been extinguished by the United States, the same shall be and remain subject to the disposition of the United States, and said Indian lands shall remain under the absolute jurisdiction and control of the Congress of the United States.

Or how about this chestnut from the United States Constitution Article IV Section 3 (second paragraph):

The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.

To those of you who would argue that this section only applies to Territories, think about what the word "property" means.

Or perhaps the Utah Enabling Act

(Just to be clear, the Utah Territory (1850) was primarily federal land acquired from Mexico in 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo after the Mexican-American war)

Sec 9
That five per centum of the proceeds of the sales of public lands lying within said State, which shall be sold by the United States subsequent to the admission of said State into the Union, after deducting all the expenses incident to the same, shall be paid to the said State, to be used as a permanent fund, the interest of which only shall be expended for the support of the common schools within said State

Sec 12
..the following grants of land are hereby made to said State, for the purposes indicated, namely:
For the establishment of
permanent water reservoirs for irrigating purposes, five hundred thousand acres;
for the establishment and maintenance of an insane asylum, one hundred thousand acres;
for the establishment and maintenance of a school of mines in connection with the university, one hundred thousand acres;
for the establishment and maintenance of a deaf and dumb asylum, one hundred thousand acres;
for the establishment and maintenance of a reform school, one hundred thousand acres;
for establishment and maintenance of State normal schools, one hundred thousand acres;
for the establishment and maintenance of an institution for the blind, one hundred thousand acres;
for a miners' hospital for disabled miners, fifty thousand acres.
The United States penitentiary near Salt Lake City and all lands and appurtenances connected therewith and set apart and reserved therefor are hereby granted to the State of Utah.

The said State of Utah shall not be entitled to any further or other grants of land for any purpose than as expressly provided in this act; and the lands granted by this section shall be held, appropriated, and disposed of exclusively for the purposes herein mentioned, in such manner as the Legislature of the State may provide.

"There's never an opportunity to go into battle, never an opportunity to assert a right where there is not a little risk," he said

That's pretty bold from Mr. Swallow, as it isn't his money being wasted in this futile endeavor.

In other news ---

the very same Utah State Legislature tells local cities, towns and neighborhoods to put trashy BillBoards up all over there locales, against the will, laws and local ordinances of the people living there....

...hypocrites.

$3 million down the drain, money that *actually* could be going to schools instead of a quixotic quest to destroy public lands in the name of school funding. Even if Utah prevails and sells off these lands, does the Utah School Boards Association really think that Utah school children will see a dime of the money given the Utah Legislature's track record? Let's be honest. No money for schools and pristine lands sold for development. That's the real outcome if the state ends up "succeeding." It's a lose-lose.

Yikes! what are we thinking?

A message bill pure and simple, we might as well burn the money. Mr Swallow does not care...the money is not his.

This is a fools errand. Not only will the bill end up doing nothing but make these extremists feel good, it will cost Utah tax payers a lot of money in litigation expenses.

And if federal lands were turned over to Utah, are you ready for a tax increase to pay for the management of those lands? And are you ready to give up the huge amounts of money the federal government gives to Utah? And those of you who love to enjoy the use of those lands, are you ready to give up access? You will eventually see "no trespassing" signs on land that you previously had open access to for hunting, fishing, motorcycling, hiking, boating and many other activities.

This kind of stuff is pushed by those who forget we live in a nation of one, who ignore the lessons of the Civil War, and need to go back and closely read the Gettysburg Address.

Every legislative session, at least one unconstitutional, ill-thought-out, idiotic message bill is submitted for "consideration". This one is worse than others that fit that description. For shame, Mr. Swallow -- the citizens of the state of Utah deserve better.

Utah has nearly 18,000 square miles of private land, which by itself makes it the 10th state in size, midway between Maryland and West Virginia. Including state land bumps Utah up to 11th place, just above West Virginia. (The others are RI, DE, CT, HI, NJ, NH, VT, MA.)

Kane and Garfield counties alone have just over 1100 square miles of private and state land, an area greater than the land mass of Rhode Island. Yet who do you wager has a higher GDP by any measure (total, per capita, or per square mile)-- Kane and Garfield, or Rhode Island?

It is not access to territory that limiting economic development. Other states have less land (and higher populations to be supported by that land), yet have robust economies. Other factors are at play. Maybe folks in Vermont and Massachusetts and New Jersey are just more enterprising than Utahns.

The legislature should stop scapegoating federal land for its problems.

Listen closely.

That sound you hear is the sound of 3million dollars being flushed down the toilet!

I bet our legislators are glad its not THEIR MONEY!